EU-US trade deal: Waiting for tariff clarity – Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered economist Christopher Graham notes that the European Parliament has paused ratification of the EU-US trade deal as it seeks clarity on new US tariffs. The report highlights uncertainty created by the US Supreme Court ruling on IEEPA tariffs and President Trump’s new Section 122 measures, with potential changes to steel tariffs and sectoral exemptions under close European scrutiny.

Parliament pauses deal pending US clarity

"The European Parliament has suspended ratification of the EU-US trade deal as it awaits tariff clarity The EU’s chief concerns are over the timeline and potential for further Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs European Parliament is looking for longer-term clarity; changes to steel tariffs could help in this regard Europe will not want to escalate matters, but will hope to exert more leverage on sectoral exemptions."

"The US Supreme Court’s ruling on 20 February striking down IEEPA tariffs has created uncertainty in Europe over whether the EU’s pre-existing trade deal still applies, and what future tariffs could still be in the offing."

"President Trump has announced new 10% tariffs on all trade partners via Section 122 – which could rise to 15% soon – but the White House has also communicated that legally binding agreements would still be honoured."

"There is uncertainty among European policy makers over what this means in practice, and the European Parliament’s trade committee has paused the ratification process for the EU-US trade deal brokered last year until it has further clarity in this regard (including the reduction of tariffs on US industrial goods imports)."

"However, the European Commissioner for Trade, Maros Sefcovic, has since said that the deal could be ratified in March once greater certainty emerges."

(This article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor.)